Barclays upgrades Bodycote to 'overweight', shares spark

(Sharecast News) - Bodycote shares sparked on Thursday as Barclays upgraded its recommendation to 'overweight' from 'equalweight' and lifted the price target to 765p from 635p, saying the company is "undervalued and underappreciated". The bank said: "Based on end market exposure, self-help supporting margin expansion, a return to earnings per share growth, underperformance versus the sector year to date, and current valuation offering an attractive entry point, we upgrade our rating."

Barclays also said that FY25 should be the trough year for Bodycote and that there should be a return to organic growth in FY26.

Bodycote is a supplier of heat treatments, metal joining, hot isostatic pressing and coatings services.

At 1400 GMT, the shares were up 4.8% at 673.01p.